The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX.
Emmerdale’s Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke) has finally returned to our screens.
The character has been away from our screens for most of this year. Prior to today, in 2025, he’s only appeared in four episodes.
Back in July, Arthur was mentioned during a conversation had by Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy) and April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan).
As Laurel headed outside to hang some washing out, she heard some rustling from the bushes.
It startled her, so she mentioned it to April later. She wondered if there was a thief in the village, because some of the clothes on her line had disappeared.
Laurel told April that Arthur’s tracksuit bottoms had vanished, prompting her to reflect on the friendship her son has with April. ‘Would you mind giving him a call because I know he’s giving you a bit of space, but he does miss you love’, Laurel told the youngster.
The person hiding in the bushes turned out to be April’s mate Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle). She found him shortly after her chat with Laurel, and learnt about what he had been up to since leaving rehab.
Dylan told April that he had really turned his life around. He claimed he was living in Hotten with a friend and also working, and April was thrilled for him.
We quickly learnt that Dylan was lying to April. In reality, he was sleeping rough in the Pavilion, and also dealing drugs for a man called Ray Walters (Joe Absolom).
Arthur was back on our screens today, celebrating his 18th birthday. He was in the café with Laurel and Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler), cringing somewhat as they made a fuss of him.
Laurel told Arthur that all she asks is that he spends a little bit of time with his family on his birthday, and then he can go off and do as he pleases with his mates.
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A while later, Arthur and Laurel were in The Hide enjoying lunch. Arthur told his mum that he was going to visit his dad’s grave soon and spend a quiet moment with him.
Arthur’s father is Ashley Thomas, who died a storyline that highlighted his dementia diagnosis.
The character told Laurel in the instalment that he wanted to spend some time reflecting on the relationship he had with his dad, and process the fact he isn’t here to see him turn 18.
